Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

"General...Ling...Lingdong...a few monks have come!" The wolf demon gasped for breath, his words incoherent. "One...one was fair-skinned and riding a horse, and another...another had a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth, sharp teeth and a fierce iron rod in his hand! He...he just swung that iron rod, and our whole group of brothers...were all broken!"

"A monk with a hairy face and a thunderous mouth?" The leopard-headed demon general frowned, clearly having never heard of such a person.

However, this news instantly caused a huge uproar among the demon soldiers at the bottom level of Huangfeng Cave.

Huang Mao'er was wiping his weapons in the corner of the courtyard. He stopped what he was doing and mingled among the whispering and gossiping little demons, taking in all the commotion.

"Hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed...leading a horse...protecting a monk..."

"I...I seem to have heard my uncle, who has lived for eight hundred years, say...Five hundred years ago, there was a monkey who called himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who looked just like this, and he...he once wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace!" A rabbit demon with a little more knowledge lowered his voice, his words trembling deeply.

"Havoc in Heaven?!" Upon hearing this, all the surrounding demons gasped in shock.

The Heavenly Palace—what kind of place is that? It is the residence of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the Three Realms, and a place guarded by heavenly soldiers and generals in legends. How could a demon wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace? This is beyond their wildest imagination.

"There's no mistake!" Another old fox demon chimed in, his eyes filled with terror. "It's that stone monkey! I heard he was imprisoned under the Five Elements Mountain by Buddha, and judging by the time, he should be out soon! How... how did he end up in our Yellow Wind Ridge?"

The name Sun Wukong loomed over all the lesser demons like a shadow, a killing star that would make any demon tremble with fear!

The atmosphere inside the cave changed dramatically in just a few breaths, from its usual relaxed state to an extremely tense one.

The blond-haired guy came, head bowed.

The main event he had been waiting for was finally about to begin!

……

The leopard-headed demon general stepped forward and lifted up the wolf demon who had delivered the message.

"Where's Tiger Vanguard? His Majesty has been in a bad mood these past few days and needs to capture a few people or animals to eat with his drinks. Wasn't your squad out with Tiger Vanguard?"

The injured wolf demon seemed still in shock, stammering, "That...that hairy-faced monk...was...too powerful!"

"His strength was unbelievable! Grandpa Xianfeng's bronze sword clashed head-on with his iron rod, and... it actually got chipped! The sound shook the valley; my ears are still ringing!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding lesser demons immediately erupted in uproar.

"Grandpa Vanguard... he... he's highly skilled in martial arts, but that monkey is absolutely terrifying! His staff techniques are impenetrable and lightning fast, and Grandpa Vanguard is gradually... gradually unable to hold on..."

But the demon soldier's tone shifted abruptly, a morbid fanaticism and adoration suddenly surging across his face: "Just when we all thought we were going to lose, Grandpa Vanguard... he used his ultimate divine power!"

"What?" The demon general was speechless and pressed for an answer.

"Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell!" The demon soldier's voice suddenly rose. "Grandpa Vanguard feigned defeat and turned to flee. The monkey fell for it and brought his staff down! But what he hit was merely a decoy created by Grandpa Vanguard using a tiger-skin coat! Grandpa Vanguard's true form had already transformed into a whirlwind, circled behind the monkey, and, taking him by surprise, actually... actually snatched the monk on the white horse away!"

"What?!"

"Got him?!"

In the front courtyard, there was a brief moment of astonishment, followed by a deafening roar of cheers.

"Grandpa Pioneer is awesome!"

"Haha! No matter how powerful that monkey is, he still fell for our Vanguard Grandpa's trick!"

The little demons cheered and jumped for joy, as if they could already see the Yellow Wind Cave's awe-inspiring presence throughout the Three Realms.

They were so caught up in the joy of victory that they completely ignored the fact that the demon soldiers had said the Tiger Vanguard was no match for them head-on.

Only Huang Mao'er understood that capturing Tang Sanzang meant forging an irreconcilable feud with Sun Wukong.

The Monkey King was not one to compromise. From this moment on, a small-scale skirmish had transformed into a fatal crisis that would determine the fate of the entire Yellow Wind Cave.

This is exactly the chaos he wanted.

Just as the crowd inside the cave was filled with excitement, the black stone gate roared once more and slowly opened.

Tiger Vanguard is back.

His armor was torn in several places, and there was a clear bloodstain on his forehead. His breathing was slightly disordered, indicating that he had just gone through a fierce battle. However, his face was filled with unprecedented pride and arrogance.

In his hands, a rope tightly bound a monk dressed in a white robe. The monk had a handsome face, but now his face was deathly pale, his whole body was trembling, and he was muttering something, but he couldn't make a sound.

"My men! Look what I've brought back!" Tiger Vanguard lifted Tang Sanzang high, as if displaying a rare treasure.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Tiger Vanguard has returned victorious, capturing a fair-skinned monk!" A little demon shouted, reporting the good news deep into the cave.

Soon, from within the deep tunnel came the joyful voice of King Yellow Wind: "Good! Good! Tiger Vanguard, quickly bring that monk in, and you'll be credited with the greatest merit!"

Tiger Vanguard laughed triumphantly, escorting Tang Sanzang and surrounded by a group of demon soldiers, as he walked proudly toward the Hall of Righteousness.

The defenses inside the cave were visibly relaxed due to this sudden victory. Many demon soldiers couldn't contain their excitement and whispered among themselves. Some of the bolder ones even began to speculate on how to eat Tang Sanzang's flesh in the most nutritious way.

Soon, the sounds of string and wind instruments and the clamor of demons filled the Hall of Righteousness. King Yellow Wind actually held a victory banquet to celebrate Tiger Vanguard's success. After hearing the details, his words were full of worry about Sun Wukong's revenge.

Standing in his secluded guard post, Huang Mao'er could clearly hear Tiger Vanguard's smug boasting, as well as the chorus of flattery and sycophancy from the demons. Huang Feng Da Wang's worries were quickly forgotten.

Although the guards in the core area of ​​the cave were not mobilized, Fan Yuan could sense that most of the demon soldiers' attention had been drawn to the lively banquet.

Huang Mao's gaze passed through the noisy front courtyard and landed on the entrance to the deep passageway leading to the true core.

There, two demon generals clad in black armor stood as still as rocks before the stone gate, oblivious to the commotion inside the Hall of Righteousness.

The core defense line remained unshaken by the victory celebration.

Huang Mao'er withdrew his gaze, his heart calm. He knew that the real chaos was yet to come.

The commotion inside the Hall of Gathering Righteousness did not last long in the end.

Just as Tiger Vanguard was thoroughly drunk, boasting about how he had tricked the stable boy, a powerful and piercing shout of anger pierced through the heavy black stone gate and layers of restrictions, echoing clearly within the cave.

"You plague-ridden monster in the cave! Quickly send my master out! If you dare to harm a single hair on my master's head, I, Old Sun, will turn this Yellow Wind Cave into dust!"

That voice belonged to Sun Wukong.

Immediately afterwards, another, even rougher voice rang out:

"Hey! You bird-headed vanguard inside! Your grandpa Pig is here! If you have the guts, come out and fight your grandpa Pig for three hundred rounds! If you don't, you'd better get rid of your king clean now, so your grandpa Pig's nine-toothed rake won't have to go to the trouble of gutting you!"

The once lively banquet atmosphere instantly turned cold. The little demons looked at each other, and the drunkenness on their faces was quickly replaced by fear.